Get Up Again with Pastor Lee Wong

Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast.

My name's Clayton.

I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch.

And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you.

I hope that you enjoy today's message.

MetaCurch, thank you so much for joining us today.

If it's your first time with us, my name's Clayton.

I'm the lead pastor here, and we are continuing to stream together and serve together during this time.

We want to make sure that you guys stay up to date with everything that we have going on.

So be sure to follow us online.

We're on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

You can find out all the different ways to serve and also just take in some really encouraging content during these uncertain times.

Those of you who are a part of MetaCurch and who are still working and receiving income during this time, we want to remind and encourage you guys to do your part to help push this movement forward.

A lot of us have decided during this time with so many people out of work that we're even gonna increase our generosity.

And maybe it doesn't make a lot of sense financially right now, but the eternal view that we take on life says that now is the time to stand in the gap financially for those who cannot give themselves.

So a couple ways to do that.

You can give online at metachurch.tv or you can give by downloading the MetaChurch app.

Now, today we have a very, very special surprise for you guys.

Pastor Lee Wong is gonna be with us delivering a message that God has laid on his heart.

Lee and I came up together in ministry.

We've known each other for many years.

He uh went and did ministry as the director of the New Braunville's food bank for several years and is now a teaching pastor at City Tribe Church.

And uh man, he has something that is really, really important and a perspective for you guys to catch today as we navigate through difficult times.

And so, right now in the chat, make sure that you welcome Lee, throw some fire, throw some thumbs up, let him know that you're glad that he's here.

MetaCurch, I love you guys.

Y'all continue to be safe and continue to be the movement.

This message sparked riots and disrupted the empire's economy, and it turned people from full devotion away from their emperor Nero.

Now it's the same message that your team at Metachurch exists to persuade you of.

And it's this there is one Lord, Jesus Christ.

And all things are through him, and we exist through him.

As Paul awaited formal sentencing, he penned what was perhaps his farewell letter to his apprentice Timothy.

Paul sensed his own death was imminent because he wrote, The time for my departure is close.

Now I imagine as Paul penned those words, he chuckled at the irony of the situation.

You see, in his earlier life, three decades prior, Paul was an expert in and an enforcer of Jewish laws.

He was a Pharisee.

And he was the son of a Pharisee.

And as such, he was zealous about Jewish traditions being observed and making sure everybody kept to them.

And so Paul was a terrorist of sorts.

He persecuted his fellow Jews, he hunted them down, he even had some of them killed for the very reason that he was in prison.

Because they devoted themselves to that message.

There's one God, Jesus Christ.

Now, what's even more ironic is this, and some of y'all, y'all have a hard time getting your own family to watch or listen metachurch messages, right?

Heck, even Jesus himself, though he performed miracles, he had a hard time persuading people who followed him, people who saw firsthand the miracles that he performed, he had a hard time persuading them that he's God.

But Paul, Paul was surprisingly successful at persuading polytheistic pagans, people who worship multiple gods or no gods at all, he was successful at persuading them that Jesus, a poor Jewish man who was crucified and buried and raised from the dead, that he was the one true God.

And still, Paul sparked several communities centered around Jesus' teachings throughout his known world: Cyprus and Galatia, Thessalonica, Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, Colossae, to name a few.

Ironically, despite his commitment to Jesus, and actually because of his commitment to Jesus, in that Roman holding cell, Paul sat.

Now, for just a moment, put yourself in Paul's place.

Your freedom taken from you, your execution imminent.

If you're anything like me, you likely would have felt afraid or depressed, you would have felt remorseful, or you might have even felt bitter towards Jesus.

We might have thought, all of those years I served you, Jesus.

I had all that success, and this is how I'm rewarded.

We may have even altogether abandoned our faith.

Heck, a few years prior to that moment, Paul himself and his apprentice Timothy, they were ready to give up and to die.

Paul admitted, we even despaired of life.

Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves.

And so, being imprisoned, anticipating execution, surely Paul was still in despair, right?

Or surely he had been brought back into despair.

Well, in some of the final words that he would write his apprentice Timothy, Paul revealed the state of his soul.

He wrote, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.

Paul was essentially saying, Every time I fell down or got knocked down, I got up again.

I never gave up.

I gave my all in this life, and I will die with no regrets.

In the final season of his life, Paul was proud and he was at peace in his soul.

And here's what's so fascinating about that.

When we unpack the depths and the details of Paul's despair, when we look at his life, we'll see how utterly shocking it is that he was ever able to experience any sort of peace.

He should have never been at peace.

The peace he experienced in the mid-60s AD, sitting in that dank cell, it's surprisingly surpassed all understanding.

And that's the kind of peace I personally want.

And it's a peace that I want for you.

That no matter what knocks us down, no matter what happens when we fall down, that you and I might finish our races of life with no regrets, that we might have peace in our souls.

Now, my name is Lee, and I'm a longtime friend of your metachurch team.

And my hope for us today, our time today, through Paul's story is that you and I will have a foundation for why we could and should get up whenever we've been knocked down.

And my hope is you will very practically know how to get up again and again so you not only finish your race of life strong, but you'll know how to encourage people that you love to do the same when they're down.

And so, why could and should you and I be inspired to get up again and again?

And how might you and I practically continue to fight the good fight and finish the race of life with little regret?

Well, the answers are found in a letter Paul wrote to a first-century community of Jesus followers in Corinth.

This letter has been collected for us in our Bibles, and we refer to it as 2 Corinthians.

So if you have your Bibles digital or physical, turn to 2 Corinthians.

And before we jump into today's teaching, join me in asking the Holy Spirit to give us divine insight and divine inspiration.

So wherever you are and whenever you're listening or watching, say with me something like this.

Holy Spirit, would you teach me something new today?

Would you speak to me and inspire me?

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, among all of Paul's writings, scholars consider 2 Corinthians his most personal peace.

It's very revealing as to all that he experienced in his time following Jesus.

And the fact that Paul was at peace in the final season of his life, it should be so inspiring for you and for me.

And here's why.

Listen to what he documented about his despair for the Corinthians.

He said, Five times I received 39 lashes from the Jews.

Now many Jews rejected Paul's message that Jesus was God, much like he had rejected in his earlier life.

And so they punished him.

They punished him for being irreverent and wicked, for being blasphemous.

And if you've ever seen movies of slave owners whipping their slaves, that's a lot like what Paul experienced.

Listen to how lashings were administered according to a collection of ancient Jewish traditions, the Mishnah.

His hands are tied to a pillar on either side of it, and the minister of the synagogue exposes the offender's chest.

A strap of cowhide is in his hand and doubled over into two.

And then he redoubled it.

And he administers 13 lashes in front to the bare chest and 26 lashes behind to the bare back.

Now the pain from these lashings was so unbearable that if you didn't die, you at least passed out, or you at least urinated or defecated yourself in public.

One beating in a lifetime was one too many.

But Paul, for teaching Jesus was God, he was beat five times.

That's a hundred and ninety-five lashings over the course of his life.

But that's not all that led to Paul's despair.

He also shared that three times I was beaten with rods by Romans.

Now, Roman soldiers carried rods that were made of elmwood, sometimes even iron.

And we don't know which Paul was beaten with, but the fact is, you and I wouldn't want to be beaten by either elmwood or iron.

And unlike the Jews who stopped at 39 strikes, Roman soldiers they were trained to be merciless.

They wanted to permanently put an end to Paul's preaching about another king and another kingdom that was greater than their emperor Nero and that was greater than their Roman Empire.

The soldiers likely beat Paul's legs and hands, and he likely took blows to the face and was clocked on his head.

And so, in addition to the five unbearable Jewish whippings, Paul endured three merciless Roman rottings.

But his list of sufferings continued.

He shared also, once I was stoned by my enemies.

Now, if what comes to mind is a group of folks pelting Paul with rocks, you're absolutely right to picture that.

But that was only part of this ancient death penalty.

Listen to how that Jewish collection of traditions the Mishnah described stoning.

The elevation of the stoning grounds was twice the height of a man.

And so Paul was put on a f on a platform that was twice his height above rocky grounds.

One of the witnesses to the crime pushes him by his hips with the hopes that the fall onto the rocky ground from that height would kill the offender.

Now, if he was still alive, the second witness takes a stone, and we're not talking like a small stone, we're talking a mini boulder and casts it onto the offender's chest.

And if he's still not dead, he is stoned by all of Israel.

Everyone present picks up a rock and pelts the offender.

And now I'm not certain how much of this stoning process Paul experienced, but however much that he endured, he was lifeless because the scriptures teach the Jews dragged him out of the city thinking he was dead.

An unconscious Paul was left to rot and be eaten by wild animals.

Now think of the long-term injuries, professional athletes who wear padded protection, what they incur from impact.

Now imagine the long-term effects from whiplashings and blows to the body from iron rods and rocks.

Paul's mobility was undoubtedly affected.

When cold weather came, he probably ached.

He was literally scarred for life.

His scars would have had scars.

And not only that, he probably was deformed from where breaks and fractures healed or didn't heal correctly.

In fact, the Corinthians, they shamed Paul's appearance this way.

They said, his physical presence is weak.

Now, are you starting to perceive the depths of Paul's despair?

All that he had to overcome to get up again and again.

Reading and hearing Paul's story, it reminds me of that Sim Sims meme.

Stop, stop, he's already dead.

Like, come on, this guy has suffered enough already.

And I'm sure you would agree with me.

It's amazing that anyone, after all that, would be motivated to get up again and again.

But I'd be remiss if we stopped right there.

Because Paul's despair goes even deeper.

And it's important for you and for me to see why we can get up over and over again.

So stay with me a little bit longer.

Day and night, for 18 months, Paul had poured his heart and his soul into caring for the Corinthians.

He taught about Jesus and he modeled for them gentleness and generosity, compassion, and humility.

Like a proud parent, he had so much hope that the Corinthians would flourish and live the life they were created to live.

Paul phrased his heart for them this way: He said, There is a daily pressure on me, my care for all Jesus-centered communities.

Yet shortly after Paul departed Corinth, his beloved Corinthians, they turned on him.

Visitors came to them, chattering that chief smith, likely resurfacing Paul's dark past as a persecuting Pharisee, as a terrorist.

These visitors, they convinced the Corinthians to question Paul's character and his credentials.

They even criticized his competency, saying, His public speaking is despicable.

Oh, the shame and the guilt of having to face your dark past once again.

The betrayal and the rejection, oh, the insecurity of being compared to someone who's way more talented than you.

And some of you know Paul's feelings all too well.

You know the disheartening feeling of a coworker or a classmate sharing your secrets or spreading stories about you.

You know that sickening feeling of investing so much in a marriage, in a job, in a church, only to be rejected.

You know that inadequate feeling of being compared to a sibling or a skinnier woman or a more accomplished man, and those feelings can knock you down.

Or they can feel like you're being kicked when you're already down.

This mounting physiological and psychological trauma was just too much.

It's why Paul admitted we even despaired of life.

Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves.

And so this brings us back to our opening scene.

A few years later.

Paul was in that dank prison cell.

He was at peace.

He wrote that he had fought the good fight, that he had finished the race.

And so, knowing now the depths of Paul's despair, here's what I hope will forever be seated in your heart and in your mind.

If Paul, with a lifetime of physiological and psychological trauma, can get up again and again, so can you.

Even if the verbal lashings from your abusive parents or school bullies have left lasting scars on your soul, remember that Paul got up again and again, so you can get up too.

Even if betrayal from a spouse or berating from your boss has broken you like Roman rottings, remember that Paul got up again and again, and so you can get up too.

When the grief of knowing you won't see your loved one again feels like a boulder is crushing your chest, know that Paul got up again and again, and so you can get up too.

When people are pelting you with stones of cheese man comparison, when they shame you for what you have done in your past, remember that Paul got up again and again and so you can get up too.

If Paul, with all that he endured, has the capacity to get up over and over again, you and I, we can keep fighting the good fight.

We can finish strong the race of our life with a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Now, if this is a truth that you receive, if this is a truth that you want the Holy Spirit to cement in you, in your heart and in your mind for all of time, give me a thumbs up or write in the chat, I receive this, or give me a heart, give me a smiley face, some kind of emoji to let me know you receive this truth.

Now, why?

Why was Paul motivated to get up again and again?

And practically, how did Paul get up over and over again?

Well, in this very letter, he gives us clues.

He wrote, I know a man in Christ, referring to himself, who was caught up to the third heaven 14 years ago.

And whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don't know.

God knows.

Paul couldn't explain how, but he was convinced that he visited a perfect place where Jesus presides.

He went on to say, I know that this man was caught up in paradise and heard inexpressible words.

Now, that word from which we translate heard in the original Greek manuscripts of this letter is critical to our conversation today.

It's a word to highlight, underline, and circle in your Bibles.

This Greek word for heard is akuo.

And a kuo is the word from which we get acoustics in English.

And in this particular instance, a kuo refers to an inner, spiritual hearing of Jesus' voice.

And it doesn't mean to go in one ear and out the other, it means to listen to and learn from and live by what Jesus has said.

Akuo means to listen to, learn from, and live by what Jesus has said.

Now, Paul heard words so heavenly, he said humans don't have the capabilities of communicating them.

And while Paul couldn't say exactly what he heard, we know from his writings the kind of faith it birthed in him.

Paul was persuaded of this.

And if you're exploring what Metachurch is all about, what Jesus is all about, let this be a foundation for your faith.

If anyone is in Christ, he said, he is a new creation and old things have passed away.

Paul was persuaded that God gave us the Spirit as a down payment for a promise, and that we are a temple of God's Spirit.

And what is that promise?

Paul was persuaded that if our earthly tent, even if our earthly tent that we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens.

And because of this, Paul was persuaded that God's power is perfected in weakness.

And so Paul took pleasure in weaknesses and in insults and catastrophes and in persecutions and in pressures.

For when he was weak, then he was strong.

Paul went on to say that our momentary light affliction, he called his suffering momentary light affliction.

He believed that it was producing for him an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.

Paul also was persuaded that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.

He believed so that we may be repaid for what has been done in the body.

Whatever Paul's spirit listened to and learned from Jesus, it birthed in him what your meta church teachers say is the pilgrim's perspective.

Paul perceived everything through the lens of eternity, through the lens of paradise, and from this pilgrim's perspective, through the lens of eternity, your pain and my pain, it can be repurposed to perfect us.

Paul was persuaded that how you and I, how we put up with pain, it only puts more points on the board for us to receive eternal rewards.

Paul was persuaded that this life it's only preparation for permanent peace.

In paradise with the one true God, Jesus.

Therefore, he said, we do not give up.

We get up again and again.

We do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen.

For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

This pilgrim's perspective is why each time Paul was knocked down, he was inspired to get up.

The promise of our pain being repurposed for paradise is why you can be inspired to get up over and over again, no matter how often you get knocked down.

If, like me now, you curiously question everything, you might be thinking, okay, Lee, like I've had some bad Mexican food produce some crazy dreams in me.

This might all sound great, but how might you and I know that Paul didn't base his life on just a bad trip?

Now we're talking your life here, and so trust me, I believe that's a legitimate question.

We're talking about your suffering.

So it's a welcomed question, and I'm glad you're asking that question, but hear me out.

Here's one of the reasons why I'm persuaded Paul actually heard from Jesus in paradise.

Paul's experience wasn't exclusive to him alone, in the first century alone.

As documented by the books, dreams and visions, and seeking Allah, finding Jesus, Jesus is still appearing to millions of people in our world today.

Millions of people today are hearing from Jesus.

In fact, in the last 14 years alone, more Muslims have professed that Jesus is God than in the last 14 centuries combined.

And Nabil, a medical doctor turned preacher for Jesus, he's one of those Muslims.

Listen to Nabil's story.

So it was a very devout Muslim life.

Approximately 50 to 70 percent of former Muslims who are now Christians came partially through visions and dreams.

You had one very specific dream, tell us that.

In this dream, I was standing at the threshold of a narrow door.

And this door was just wide enough to fit me.

And just tall enough to fit me.

I mean, in my dream, it was like, wow, this door is narrow.

And at the other side of this doorway was a room that was set with a feast.

And people were sitting down in nice clothes at these round tables, and it was like a wedding feast.

And I knew in my dream that that room was heavy.

I wanted to get into that room.

But I couldn't.

Because at the other end of the doorway was my friend David.

He was looking forward.

In fact, all the people in the room were looking forward, waiting for the owner or the speaker to come and start the event.

But I couldn't get in because he was blocking the way, and so I looked at him and I said, David, I thought we were going to eat together.

And he says, You haven't responded.

And in the dream, right there, I knew I needed to respond to the invitation David was giving me in order to come into heaven.

But this is where it got crazy.

When I woke up, I told my friend David the dream.

And uh he said, this dream is so clear.

Just go to Luke chapter 13.

Luke 13 · chapter mention

And uh I went to Luke 13 for the first time.

I had never been to Luke 13 before.

And when I opened it up, there was a section there that was titled The Narrow Door.

And when I saw it, my heart just stopped.

And I'm gonna paraphrase it.

Basically, what it says is Jesus was going through the towns and villages preaching the good news.

And the disciples said, Lord, are many going to be saved?

And he said, make every effort to enter through that narrow door.

Because many will try, and few will be able.

And you will see people sitting inside at the feast of the kingdom of heaven.

Make every effort to enter before the owner comes and closes that door.

And so I knew that God had given me a dream straight out of the Bible, and he placed me inside a parable, showed me exactly where I was, and he left my decision up to me.

It was very clear for me at that point what I needed to do.

Nabil is just one of millions today who've heard from Jesus and who've given up everything to follow him.

He's one of millions who have decided to live not for what is seen, but for what is unseen, to live with a pilgrim's perspective and inspired for to receive eternal rewards.

This is just one of the many reasons why you and I can be persuaded that this life is preparation for paradise.

This is why you and I can be inspired to get up over and over again to fight the good fight and to finish the race of life.

And so you and I, we have to acuo, we have to listen to and learn from and live by what Jesus has said and what he says through his spirit.

Now, you and I, can we get up again and fight the good fight without ever hearing from Jesus?

Perhaps.

I think Paul would say to you and to me that had he not heard from Jesus, he'd have stayed in despair.

He'd have continued to want to die.

He would have never experienced that peace that surpasses understanding.

And I believe he would tell you and me that hearing from Jesus was foundational to finishing his race of life.

Here's why.

Listen to what else Paul wrote to the Corinthians.

He wrote, We do not wage war according to the flesh, since our weapons of warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds.

Translation: I do not fight my battles in this physical realm, I fight them in the spiritual realm.

He went on to say that we demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to obey Christ.

And we are ready to punish any disobedience, to demolish strongholds, take captive, ready to punish.

These three phrases describe how Roman soldiers waged war and conquered entire regions in the first century.

Kind of like that great theological work, Wreckit Ralph, who beat down buildings to the ground.

And similar to Paul's brutal beatdowns, entire people groups' ways of thinking, their cultures and their customs, their way of living, it was beat out of them.

And so tying a bow on those three phrases is the word obey.

Those of you taking notes, that word obey is the one of those words to write down or highlight, underline, encircle.

It's another word critical to Paul's ability to get up, to his capacity to get up.

And guess what?

You're already familiar with it.

You just learned it.

The Greek word from which we translate obey is a derivative of guess.

You guessed it.

Akuo.

To make every thought obey Christ means to put everything under the authority of what you have heard from Jesus.

This is what Paul did with every external opinion, every inner thought that knocked him down.

Paul waged war, not in what's seen, the physical realm, but in what's not seen, the spiritual realm.

Like Roman writings, Paul beat down every criticism, every comparison, every conclusion that contradicted what Jesus had said to him.

Like the Jews who whipped him, Paul possessed a preparedness to punish any notion that came against the teachings of Jesus.

And this is exactly what Jesus modeled when he refuted the devil who tempted him.

Jesus said, man must not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

And so if you want to get up again and again, like the Romans beat down Paul, like wreck it Ralph beats down buildings, and like Paul and Jesus demonstrated, you have to beat down every thought and every voice.

Put it under the authority of what Jesus has said.

And so when guilt reminds you of what you've done and shame reminds you of what's been done to you, to get up, beat down guilt and shame, and repeat what Paul recorded: that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation and old things have passed away.

When news stories and doctors' reports overwhelm you with fear to get up, beat down fear, repeating that even if our earthly tent is destroyed, we have a building from God and eternal dwellings in the heaven.

This is not your home.

When you feel defeated by depression or addiction, to get up, beat down those dark thoughts, repeating what Paul wrote: that God's power is perfected in weakness, that when you are weak, then you're strong.

When you're frustrated that your gentleness and your generosity is taken for granted, get up, reminding yourself that each may be repaid for what has been done in the body, you will be rewarded.

When the grief is too great, and you're missing your loved one, taken too soon, to get up, beat down the thoughts that you'll never see them again.

And say what Paul wrote, that we know the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us.

Find hope, knowing that you will be reunited with them in paradise.

Now, no matter where you're watching or listening, I want you to shout out, or I want you to type in the comments, we beat down thoughts to get up again.

Now, we won't all be privileged to have an experience like Paul had or like Nabil had or like the millions of other Muslims are having today.

And so, where might you and I start today?

How might you and I start to acuo, to listen to, learn from, and live by Jesus' voice?

Well, you can start by internalizing what Paul heard from Jesus.

Internalize the scriptures that we just listed that made up Paul's pilgrim's perspective.

We'll have a graphic with those scriptures for you to download from the MetaCurch Facebook and Instagram sites.

Every day, I encourage you to recite them out loud, especially when you're down.

It's something I do, and I want you to do it until you internalize them and can readily recall them and declare war over your thoughts to beat them down.

Declare them over your children, declare them over your children's children and overachievers.

I challenge you to internalize everything that Jesus taught in John's Gospel.

I challenge you to make it a life goal to memorize everything Jesus taught in the other three Gospels, in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

My hope for us all is that we would be able to beat down thoughts with what Jesus has said.

And for those of you who want to learn to listen to what Jesus is saying through the Spirit within you, to listen for his voice, here's one additional resource.

It's a book called Jesus Speaks: Learning to Recognize and Respond to the Lord's voice.

It teaches some very practical applications and exercises from which you can learn and apply to your life.

Now, the point is, though, is that you have to know what Jesus has said and is saying.

That's what I'm encouraging you to do because I'm convinced when you start to listen for, learn from, and live by Jesus' voice, like Paul, you will have the capacity to get up.

You will fight the good fight.

You will finish your race of life strong.

And not just that, you will have a peace knowing that you're being prepared to receive eternal rewards in paradise.

And you never know what your perseverance in this life will produce long after you're gone.

Paul probably couldn't have imagined his lasting impact on the world.

But because he got up over and over again, 19 out of the 27 New Testament books were written by or influenced by him.

Paul's writings have shaped languages and literacy all around our modern world.

They have profoundly contributed to the Renaissance and the scientific revolution, shaping art and medicine and technology in our world today.

Because Paul akuo'd and because he beat down thoughts to get up over and over again, he had partners named Luke and Mark who wrote Gospels about Jesus.

The very gospels that Nabil learned from and lived by and that inspired him to leave medicine to influence millions of Muslims as a preacher for Jesus.

Those very gospels helped him fight the good fight and finish his race when stomach cancer took his life in 2017.

Because Paul a coued, because he listened to, learned from, and lived by what Jesus had said, because he beat down thoughts and got up over and over again in the first century.

Because Paul in the first century listened to Jesus.

And so you never know what your perseverance will produce.

It's more than just a personal peace, it's more than just receiving eternal rewards.

Your perseverance is going to impact people around you and future generations.

And it's those very people around you and it's future generations that need you to get up.

We need you to akuo to listen to, learn from, and live by Jesus' teachings.

Would you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your spirit and we thank you for how it gave Paul the capacity to get up and to be an example for us, to show us that we too have that capacity that no matter what knocks us down, no matter when we fall down and trip ourselves up, we can get up over and over again, that we can fight the good fight, we can finish the race of this life and have a peace that exceeds all understanding.

We thank you that you are a God who wants to reward us.

And so, Lord, for everybody who's watching or listening, I pray that you would help them live by your pilgrim's perspective, that they would have deeply seated in them this truth that eternity and paradise is in their future.

And I pray all of this in Jesus' name.

And everyone who agreed said, Amen.

God bless you, Medichurch.

Thanks so much for listening to the message today.

If this was helpful to you and you want to help us get the word out, you can subscribe to this podcast.

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Man, I love you guys, and I hope you have a great rest of your day.